How to Avoid Getting Ripped Off when Selling Unwanted Gold for Cash

With the South African economy showing a pretty poor performance, and the Christmas season’s spending rush just around the corner, many people are understandably strapped for cash at this time of year! For those with unwanted goldjewellery sitting in a box or safe somewhere gathering dust, selling your jewellery for a little much needed extra spending cash over the holidays seems like just the solution, but beware – the industry of buying and selling unwanted gold is notorious for shady characters and dishonest dealings.

As industry leaders in the business of helping you sell unwanted gold, we value trust, reliability and honesty in our business dealings, but many other companies may not! Here are our top tips for being careful when you sell unwanted gold, and how to avoid being caught out by conmen.

Know the reality of selling unwanted gold for cash

You need to bear in mind that even though it seems gold prices just keep going up and up, that doesn’t mean those are anywhere near the prices you’re going to get for your unwanted gold jewellery. Anyone who buys gold from you in hopes of reselling is going to be after a profit too. You are only likely to get a percentage of your market price when selling. Make sure you deal with a reputable dealer and do your research so you know what kind of price to expect.

You should also be aware of the quality and karat weight of your gold, as these can greatly affect the value of your jewellery. Only 24 Karat gold is considered pure, and 10 and 114 karat gold is going to get a far lower price than 18 or 22 karat. Make sure you know what’s what, and that your gold buyer doesn’t lump all your different grades of gold together and give you a single price for the lot. You could be getting ripped off.

Keep your gems separate!

A dishonest gold and jewellery buyer may attempt to pull the wool over your eyes if you show them gold jewellery pieces containing gemstones such as diamonds or opals. While gold chains of varying purities command certain prices, don’t let the dealer lump the precious metals as well as the stones into one price, or you could be losing thousands! It’s a good idea to get independent appraisals of the gemstones in your jewellery, as well as the whole pieces themselves so you have a better idea of what kind of value to expect.

Shop Around

Competition is one of the main things that keeps most industries honest, so use capitalism to your advantage and play one gold dealer against another in order to get the best price for your gold. Visit multiple shops and have your jewellery appraised by each. It can also be very useful to point out when you’ve gotten a better price from one than the other, as dealers are often very open to negotiation and may give you an even better price to sweeten the deal!